'Kalbela' gave me a chance to revisit my youth: Goutam Ghose

After shooting an original screenplay in "Yatra", Goutam Ghose quietly shot a film based on Bengali writer Somresh Mazumdar's novel "Kalbela". He says the love story, which is set in the troubled Kolkata of 60s and 70s, gave him a chance to go back to his youth.

Talking about it, Ghose told IANS: "I've been so tied up with the release of 'Yatra' that barely had time to shoot and complete my other films. After that I was busy with a 10-part series of short stories for Doordarshan. I've rendered a Sahitya Akademi winning novel 'Kalbela' by Somresh Mazumdar.

"I was very excited by this because the novel is a love story set in the troubled Kolkata of the 1960s and 70s. That's when I was a student in the city. So 'Kalbela' gives me a chance to go back to my youth."

Though Ghose shot novel as a mini-series for Doordarshan, the channel decided to turn it into a feature film.

"A lot of my colleagues, including Mrinal Sen, suggested a big screen version for the theatres. So the film is was released as a feature film."

Looks like literature and cinema have become best friends. With the scarcity of screenwriters in our entertainment industry, more and more filmmakers are turning to literary works for cinematic solace.

Indo-Asian News Service